


Half-Life: Extinction

by flipkick (flickkip)



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Gen, Half-Life: Decay - Freeform, Post-Half-Life 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25637623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickkip/pseuds/flipkick
Summary: The Black Mesa Incident may be over, but there are consequences yet to be seen. The survivors of the catastrophe cluster together in the aftermath while, unbeknownst to them, a threat of mass extinction looms over the planet Earth.
Relationships: Gina Cross/Colette Green
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> hello half-life community  
> i wrote the start of this fic in july of last year because i had a brainworm, and after getting my brother into half-life, the worm came back this year. as such, i have seen fit to write MORE of it, bringing it to the state it is today. i am releasing it because i think it's good content, and the fandom deserves more gina/colette (or as i have affectionately dubbed them, half-wife.) i hope you enjoy! <3

**Half-Life: Extinction**

A brilliant light plumes over the horizon in the vast New Mexico desert. An ear rupturing noise booms across a radius far greater than the blast itself, putting it in no uncertain terms that the final cataclysmic stroke has been made in a portrait of utter disaster. 

The Black Mesa Research Facility is destroyed.

Barney Calhoun, former security officer for the underground complex, looks out at the distant spectacle from the safety of a derelict warehouse. Miles away from the site, he and the scientists he’s escaped alongside are still close enough to be treated to the sight of a cacophonous final note of their traumatic ordeal. The weight it adds to their narrow escape left most at a loss for words.  
For Barney, four words come to mind.

“Son of a bitch…” He whispers out in disbelief. After living through what he has, he wonders how shocking this should be to him.  
He’s brushed with death countless times on his winding trek through Black Mesa, though perhaps what’s finally made him stop and reflect is the fact he’s finally been given the time to do so. And even scrapes with extraterrestrials and bloodthirsty soldiers can’t quite compete with the sight of a genuine nuclear detonation.  
Thinking on that brings a question to his lips “That’s not gonna… get to us, is it?” He asks, addressing the scientists beside him.

A sudden answer signals Dr. Rosenberg’s entrance. “We’re comfortably outside of its range, Calhoun,” He reassures with confident authority. “Believe me, we had most certainly prepared for an eventuality like this.”  
Barney releases a quiet sigh, easily trusting the word of the senior researcher. “Okay, good…” He turns to look at him, a weak smile on his tired face. “I made it through that place just fine without so much as a lead apron, but I don’t like my chances with that.”   
The doctor seems a bit bemused by this joke in the face of such a grisly fate, but it isn’t the first piece of gallows humor he’s received from his unlikely assistant over the course of this. He offers a mildly confused smile. 

“I presume the blast woke you up?” Rosenberg asks.  
Barney gives him a sarcastic expression, but not without an affirmative nod.  
“Ah, good, we’re only waiting on one more.” He fails to explain what he means, continuing on. “Do you feel any need for medical attention? This old building is nowhere near as readily equipped as our facilities, but we’re making do with rudimentary supplies.”  
Barney responds with a dismissing wave. Sore and scarred as he may be, he’s no worse off than the scientists. “I’m good, doc. Just needed a little power nap.”  
Rosenberg nods. “Right then. If you’d like something…” He briefly glances at the billowing cloud through the window. “Else to focus on, we are currently attempting to contact any others who may have survived using emergency frequencies. It only seems right to try and band together with as many of our peers as we can, seeing as we’re…”   
“Up the same shit creek?” Barney suggests.  
Rosenberg briefly deliberates before he concedes. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Barney smiles at the response, before the gears finally turn in his weary mind and he processes what was said. Survivors. Peers. The smirk is wiped from his face as the realization hits. “Shit…” He mutters, knitting his brows, thoughts of Gordon, Dr. Kleiner, Eli and his family stirring in his head.   
The thought of contacting them gives him the resolve to snap out of his stupor, and he looks back up to the scientist, already starting off in the direction he came from. “Good call, doc. I got buddies in there, I’m with ya.”

Dr. Rosenberg moves quickly to walk ahead of him, turning to face him apologetically. “Calhoun, you must know that… I cannot promise you-”  
Barney raises his hand, cutting him off. “Yeah, yeah, I know… just tryin’ to be a little optimistic here.” Try as he might to manage that, after what he’s been through, it’s more likely fear or denial.  
Ever polite, Rosenberg makes no attempt to suggest this, simply nodding gravely in reply.

After a tense silence, the scientist stops in front of a door in the hall. “I hope you won’t mind if we check in on a couple of colleagues briefly-we’re still waiting for one to come to.”  
Barney nods, grateful for the chance to move past this thread of conversation. “Sure… say, the guys you worked out this escape plan with are back there, so who are these two?” He asks, recalling the same comment from earlier.

The older man stops short of turning the door handle, looking to Barney to answer him. “Doctors Gina Cross and Colette Green, from Sector C. They were…” He frowns, eyes falling from Barney as he expresses no small displeasure with the words he must utter. “Present when this whole mess began at those testing labs.”   
It’s no secret to anybody that Dr. Rosenberg holds a great deal of guilt for the events of the past few days. The machine that initialized it was of his own design, and when he’d gotten word of the unusual strain they intended to put his equipment under, he couldn’t act in time to prevent the experiment.  
He shakes the expression off his face, giving the man in front of him his complete focus once more. “As for how they found their way to us, we’re not completely positive. You recall your brief time sent into reflux by the teleport, yes?”

Barney thins his lips into a line as he recalls the experience. The fuzzy blur of green that whisked him to and fro in the massive facility, the tingling, numbing sensation of the spotty teleport, the sort of paralysis that made every small movement a herculean effort. He just nods. He definitely recalls that. 

“While you were away, we believe a similar phenomenon brought Cross and Green to our location, each of them in quite a dire state…” Rosenberg says with a dour expression, casting his eyes to the floor once again. “We have no idea how this came to pass. When they’d appeared our only thoughts were of saving an additional two people from this disaster, we merely hoisted them into the back of our vehicle and planned to tend to their injuries once we arrived here. We’d ask them ourselves, but…” The doctor’s hands fidget at his sides, he sighs softly as he looks at the door in front of him. “Dr. Green has so far been uncooperative, and Dr. Cross, last we checked, is still… yet to stir…”  
The two share a brief look, expressions of concern for their respective colleagues mirroring one another. Rosenberg always displays guilt for the devastation wrought by the experiment, but for these two women, those whom he had seen at ground zero, a mere matter of minutes before it all started, he seems exceedingly mournful. Barney only nods with empathy, giving the doctor space to walk through the door.  
  


Dr. Gina Cross lies limp on a medical bed with Dr. Colette Green kneeling on the floor beside her. Each of them have been stripped of their damaged hazard suits-the charred and bloodstained suits of armor lay in pieces on a table nearby-leaving the pair in the athletic underwear designed to be worn underneath.  
Apart from their clothing, they’re also coated in bruises, scars, dried blood-the red of their own, as well as some sickly alien yellow-bandages liberally applied to many areas on their bodies, and yet a great deal of injuries the past two days have earned them remain clear to see.

Despite being the conscious one of the duo, Colette doesn’t look a whole lot better than her partner, mostly due to the dour, tired expression on her face. She’s hunched down to lean on Gina’s bedside, resting her head and arms on the surface, staring blankly at her partner.  
She doesn’t turn to look at the door, eyes fixed to Gina’s unconscious face, her messy hair, undone and falling to her bare shoulders, her chest as it rises and falls in a gentle rhythm, the only reassurance she’s still with them. All in all, Colette’s almost just as motionless; live and lucid, but sharply focused.

After a few moments, Dr. Rosenberg clears his throat. “Dr. Green, I’m not sure you should be… up and about so soon.” He speaks with a great deal of remorse, understanding as well as anyone what drives her to disregard this. Riddled with bruises and scars as she is, Colette is worrying about Gina.  
“I’m fine.” She pipes up, her tone hostile and defensive. As she finally turns to look at the two, her expression shifts to a decidedly disgruntled glare. After giving the doctor his due, her eyes shift to the figure behind him. Despite his wear and tear, she recognizes the haggard face atop a vestless blue uniform and huffs derisively. “Oh joy, a security guard. We’re _finally_ safe.” She scoffs.   
Barney’s brow furrows, though he’s more confused by the comment than he is insulted. “Well gee, great to see you made it out too, ma’am.” He dryly replies. 

The two effectively jog their memories of each other with this terse exchange. Barney recalls a vigorous researcher working engineering in Sector C, one of the dedicated HEV suits along with Gordon and Gina. Colette recalls a particularly mouthy security guard with an infamous bar tab, miraculously a friend to a number of her peers on the Anomalous Materials science team.  
Suffice it to say that at least one of them has a less than flattering opinion of the other, and she’s not taking his intrusion kindly.  
Dr. Rosenberg interjects, clearing his throat. “Dr. Green, this is Officer Barney Calhoun,” He says, slapping a hand onto the man’s shoulder, eliciting a slight wince of soreness. “He was instrumental in our escape from the facility. We owe him a great deal.”   
The endorsement doesn’t quite ring for Colette, who merely cocks a brow at the former guard. “Well I’ll be damned… one of you clowns quit pissin’ around long enough to do your damn job?” She coldly questions, glaring judgmentally at him. 

“For the love of…” Barney huffs out a sigh, throwing his hands up in exasperation as the doctor finally gets some rise out of him. “Is anyone ever gonna tell me what security guards did to the science team? I feel like I’m in highschool half the time; you still not over getting picked on or something?”  
“Please, calm yourselves!” Dr. Rosenberg raises his voice, stern but pleading expression on his face. “This is not the time nor the place for squabbling like this! We may have made it out of there, but there is still work to be done,” He asserts, stepping close to Gina’s bedside.  
He quickly turns to Colette. “Have there been any changes in her condition?” He asks, not affording the two any dead air with which to inject their commentary.

While Barney proves calm enough to recognize the doctor’s point, Colette hasn’t taken the interruption to heart. She scowls at the question. “Gee, what do you think?” She looks to her partner, frustrations mounting on her face.   
Rosenberg gives a resigned nod. “Right…”  
“She’ll get back up,” Colette says firmly, not looking away.

“Dr. Green, your hazard suits _failed_ , we were lucky to pry you out of them. You’re lucky to be alive,” Dr. Rosenberg says, an apologetic expression on his face. “We… must prepare for the reality that-”  
“She’ll get back up, damn it!” Colette whips her head around to look at him with grit teeth, clenching her fists and clutching the bed sheets. She’s fiercely opposed to the outcome he’s implying, what it would mean after all they’ve been through.

They made it out. Against all the odds.


	2. Odds and Endgames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case it isn't clear, i love gina and colette. this chapter jumbles with canon in greater detail than just a passing mention in the first one, the post half-life: decay section of this fic... if you want to read 4,000 words about a couple of half-life spinoff characters, this one's for you <3

The mishap in the Anomalous Materials test chamber created a dangerous rift between dimensions, a rift which was swiftly discovered and exploited by an otherworldly intelligence.  
This opening was to be exacerbated, torn apart further to allow the forces under this being’s command to occupy the Earth. The incident at Black Mesa would’ve become a widespread disaster of apocalyptic proportions.

Doctors Gina Cross and Colette Green saw to it that this was prevented.

Under the instruction of Dr. Richard Keller, the duo have put the proper countermeasures into place. The prototype displacement beacon is now functioning as intended, preventing the further spread of calamity by anchoring anomalous activity to the secure grounds of the Black Mesa facility.  
The task of ensuring its activation was a grueling one, and risky at that. Defending the device from alien forces was their greatest challenge yet, then the energy output almost sent them into an infinite harmonic reflux, but despite everything, the two found themselves back in Keller’s company before succumbing to exhaustion.  
A faint glimpse of the senior researcher’s rarely seen grin was the last thing they saw as he assured them they could now rest well.

As it turns out, however, they could not for long. The doctor’s harried tone begins to rouse the two once more.

“Wake up, quickly now! Our situation has had multiple concerning developments!” Dr. Keller’s never been one for bedside manner. Doctorates in engineering don’t ask for much in that regard.

The two begin pulling themselves up, Colette with a bit more umbridge than the other, opening their eyes to see Keller looking gravely at them from his wheelchair. Certainly a stark contrast to the jubilation expressed after their successful resonance reversal attempt.  
“Doctors,” He addresses them with resignation, a sigh on his breath. “I’m afraid our job is not yet done. Our reversal efforts only partly fulfilled their purpose, the cascade has been localized, but the rift is  _ still _ not closing…”  
“What?” Colette asks incredulously, able to quickly come to when faced with this revelation.  
Dr. Keller turns his powered chair to bring up data on a console. The large screen displays an array of data fields and a rudimentary graphic which depicts the punctured hole between worlds. A model of the resonance reversal prototype is shown projecting waves of energy at the hole, which begins to shrink, before waves of energy on the opposite side force it back open. The simple animation loops, displaying a vicious cycle of opposing forces on the rift’s integrity.  
He turns back to the pair. “Putting an end to this mess has just become more complicated…” He begins morosely. “I’ve been on the line with some scientists held up in the Lambda Complex, and we’ve come to the conclusion that the rift between worlds persists through the highly concentrated power of a massive alien intelligence. To put it bluntly, we have no possible chance of closing it… from  _ this  _ side.”

The duo go through a few different emotions as he speaks. Frustration at the futility of their actions, anxiety over what this could mean for them and their peers, a sinking sense of foreboding at the idea of this massive alien intelligence, and shock at what Keller seems to imply.  
Gina is the one to ask what they’re both thinking. “Dr. Keller, you don’t mean to say we have to…?”

He doesn’t answer directly, turning his chair to type at the console again. “The Lambda team have assured me they possess the necessary equipment for a journey to the borderworld. Though they seem to have a different candidate in mind for closing the rift,” He glances over at the two, incredulousness evident in his voice. “Doctor Gordon Freeman.”   
Gina and Colette seem surprised by this as well, though for different reasons.   
“He’s alive?” Colette asks. He was in the very chamber that started all of this, even closer to the storm than she and Gina. It’s a miracle they even made it out from the anti-mass spectrometer’s underbelly, Freeman surviving direct exposure is something else.  
“Yes, thanks to that hazard suit,” Keller says. “And it would seem he’s been awfully busy, enough so to warrant the attention of those military drones.” 

Colette finds it in herself to smirk at the thought. “Didn’t know he had it in him.” She says, looking up at the monitor as a basic map of the facility is brought up.   
Various spots on the map are highlighted, displaying some strange, winding path through disjointed areas.   
Dr. Keller gestures at the screen as he explains to the two. “The Lambda team are using their security systems to keep track of Freeman’s progress via his HEV suit. Unfortunately, so are the military, from a separate security point.” He punches something else in and the highlights focus on a security center near Sector C. “He doesn’t have a chance in hell of making it to the Lambda Complex when they can track his every move. It’s only a matter of time before they come looking for you two as well.” 

Colette quietly huffs upon hearing their suits have tracking devices in them. It’s a go figure, but hearing it confirmed isn’t going to help her paranoia in this place.  
“So,” Gina pipes up, wringing her gloved hands together as she locks her gaze to Keller’s. “What’s our plan of action?”  
The older man seems to take a moment to appreciate the no nonsense response from his finest student, then puts his hands together and replies. “You need to reach that station and free it of military control. Once there, you can hand remote control over to me, and we can coordinate a journey to the Lambda Complex after tracking Freeman ourselves.”

“So,” Colette began, rolling a kink out of her neck. “All three of us power through to Lambda and put a wrap on this,” She begins doing the same for her shoulders, limbering up after being unconscious for so long. “Turn the tables on those aliens and spill some more greymatter on their home turf.” She smirks at the man, finally moving to crack her knuckles. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“I thought it might,” Keller mutters, begrudgingly amused.  
“What about you?” Gina asks.  
He subtly thins his lips, returning his hands to the arms of his chair. “I’ll remain here to guide you once I have access to the security network."  
Gina thinks on this response, gradually furrowing her brow. "What is your exit plan?"   
Dr. Keller looks up at her, stonefaced. "That won't be necessary, Dr. Cross… I have no intention of getting out of here."  
Gina's eyes widen at this admission. "I… Dr. Keller, you can't be-"  
"I've made up my mind, Doctor," He continues to stare straight up at her, notably more stoic as he speaks. "The logistics of my escape are too complex to bother with, not to mention frivolous." He wheels up to her, Colette crossing her arms as she watches off to the side. He lets out a sigh. "Listen to me. I've accomplished a great deal in my life, and now, I'm left with very few regrets. If you were to press me for the most prominent one, it would be that I won't live to see the heights you reach."  
The younger researcher is frozen in place as her mentor speaks, paralyzed with the thought that this should be the last time they see each other, frightened by his morbid acceptance of this fate. She can feel her heart sinking with a kind of terror that near death experiences just can't match. Colette looks away, saddened in her own right, though so much more concerned for her partner. His last remark seems to grab Gina's attention, and she focuses more on his words in the now.  
Dr. Keller leans forward slightly, clasping his hands in his lap. An alien earnestness can be seen on his face. "I know I've always been stern with you, Gina, but now more than ever, you need to know this… you are the single greatest mind it has ever been my pleasure to see develop. Even before you graduated, I could see that your potential was astronomical, I knew that you were put on this Earth to be a scientist, to do great things for the benefit of mankind. That's precisely what you are going to do today, and for this, you don't need me… you haven't needed me for a long time." His brow furrows with heartfelt emotion. He knew he'd be having this conversation with her soon enough, he only wishes it could be under better circumstances. "You are a genius in your own right, Gina Cross, competent and compassionate in ways that have passed me by. With Colette and Freeman working in tandem with you, I am positive that you can do this. I'm… very proud of you, if you'd like it in so many words."  
Gina is floored by this. She's known his pride in her for some time, obviously, but the depths to which he expressed it in this moment represent something so much more potent than she ever could have known. With this entire scenario already throwing her off emotional balance, this has completely choked her up. She screws her face up and bows her head to her mentor. "Thank you, Dr. Keller…" That's all she can really say to that. She can't express how grateful she really is.  
A hand intrudes on her field of vision, she looks up to see Dr. Keller wordlessly extending it to her. There's a pang that strikes her heart at this. She takes his hand firmly in her own, only just trembling now.

Once this is done, Keller hurries them along. They make their way towards the security point with a morose sense of purpose. Colette glances at Gina often, knowing they have no time to waste, but longing for the chance to comfort her.

* * *

The duo dispatches the military squad with relative ease, even as their approach was signalled by the tracking devices in their suits. Seems the squad had other things to worry about, as a military radio in the station crackles to life soon after the firefight.

" _ Security point, this is retrieval unit, we got Freeman. _ " The two women look at each other upon hearing this, Gina wordlessly accesses the computer to check for the HEV suit's location, remaining quiet on the off chance they were transmitting.  
A different voice cuts in. " _ Fucker went down like a sack of bricks! You sure we got the right guy? _ "  
" _ He's got the suit, that's him. _ " _  
_ " _ So this is the guy killing all my buddies… _ "  
The lower voice chimes in. " _ Keep it to yourself, private. _ " There's a brief grunt before he continues. " _ Taking him topside now. Repeat: we have Freeman, en route to the surface. Do you copy? _ " __

Dead air hangs in the room after that. Gina looks to the monitor to see the orange dot representing Gordon in one of the surface access tunnels, notably in a dead end, motionless. She whispers over her radio. "Did you hear that, Dr. Keller?"  
"It came through quite clear, yes…" Keller's own voice is hushed as the three wait with baited breath for any further correspondence.  
" _ Security point, do you copy? _ " Another pause. " _...If they got their asses killed- _ "  
" _ Relax, Dempsey, probably got bored of sitting around with their thumbs up their asses. That area's secure; besides, we got this jackass. _ "  
A derisive chuckle comes from the deeper voice. " _ Guess you're right. Come on, give me a hand here. _ " And just like that, the radio cuts out.

Colette blows out a huff, muttering through grit teeth. "Fucking jackoffs."   
Keller speaks up through their radios. "Seems we arrived just in time. You'll need to intercept those military drones before they can hand Freeman off, his talents are integral to putting a stop to all of this." With the senior researcher endorsing Gordon like that, it's clear that this is important. "Gather yourselves and make your way to the surface posthaste."  
There isn't much to gather at the moment, the pair sustained minimal injuries from a somewhat lackluster squadron of grunts, and this objective was certainly time sensitive.  
Still, Colette turns to Gina. "Hey. You alright?"  
The other scientist blinks, confused by the question at first. "Yes, I'm fine. You?"  
"I'm peachy, but I wasn't talking about the fight." She sets her weapon aside, looking to Gina with a furrowed brow. "I know we're in the middle of something here, but y'know… morale and all that."  
It doesn't need to be explicitly stated for Gina to catch the drift. She's talking about the talk with Dr. Keller. On the one hand, the physicist is grateful for the concern of her colleague, on the other, she's rather embarrassed for having caused a scene like that.

She fiddles with her pistol, loading it up with rounds stashed about the security station. "I… I know that he's right. There's no use worrying about it."  
Colette opens her mouth to say something, but her eyes fall, catching the sight of blood on the ground. "Yeah. Once Gordon's not about to die, we can take five, alright?" She looks back up to her for confirmation. Maintaining momentum was important in a crisis, but so was not cracking under the pressure.   
Gina nods, put off by how casually she can say that, but somewhat distracted from the severity of their situation as well. "Alright." She cocks her pistol, turning to the door. "Thank you."  
Colette raises her shotgun again. "Don't mention it." The two set off to save Gordon.

* * *

They managed to track the soldiers to a residue processing sector on the surface, apparently they planned to dispose of Gordon there. The duo arrived just in time to interrupt the execution, though the unconscious body of their coworker was still dropped into the inactive compactor. After a quick struggle, the soldiers were dealt with, and the immediate crisis was resolved.

Colette rubs her jaw, wincing at the wound left by the butt of a HECU grunt’s rifle.  
Pausing her reluctant search for ammo on the soldiers’ bodies, Gina looks up at her fellow scientist in arms. “Are you alright?”  
Colette nods, pulling a half smile through the soreness on her face. “I'm fine, one of those meatheads just got a lucky hit." Just as quickly as she put the expression on, it fades as she looks Gina up and down. "Thought I saw you take a shot, are you okay?"   
Gina glances down at her suit, unpunctured of course, but that doesn't mean the bullet didn't leave an impact. She brings a hand up to her shoulder, applying pressure and grimacing at the pain it brings. "Nothing I can't fix at a medical station, the suit took the brunt of it."  
"Right." She walks over to her, boots crunching against the gravel. These Hazard Suits come in handy when they're getting shot at, but there's still cause for concern to address. "Wanna take a breather? It's not a bad morning to be waist deep in the shit."  
Gina gives her an odd look for her colorful choice of words but nods regardless. "Sure, but just a few minutes. If I'm not mistaken, this compactor works on an automatic cycle."

The two walk away from the compactor and the corpses strewn around it, sitting down in the gravel, up against a rock face. The hot morning sun was a refreshing change of pace from being cooped up underground, but it was still the sun on the New Mexico skyline, and the two were inclined to stick to the shade for their short reprieve.  
There's a moment of silence between them, as there usually is right after combat, a chance for the pair to catch their breath as the residual nerves died down.  
Colette speaks up. "About back there…" She turns to face Gina, furrowing her brow. "Okay, I get it if you'd rather not talk about it, just say the word, but I figured it would be better to go over this before we get Freeman palling around with us. Do you need to talk about that?"  
Gina glances over quickly, before looking down at the rocks and sand in front of her. "I'm alright, really… we don't need to get caught up in things like that right now."  
"It's alright to take a moment, Gina, I-" She shakes her head. "It's like I've said, this is… a lot, and it's alright if it's getting to you. It's getting to me too." She reaches over, placing a hand on her arm. "I just want you to know I've got your back, alright? I'm here with you for this."  
Gina looks over at Colette, taking her words to heart. She nods. "I know… thank you." She really couldn't thank Colette enough for all she's done for her. This isn't the first time her words have been a monumental relief during this crisis, her presence has offered vital security and familiarity to a situation that sorely lacks either. It frightens her to think about going through this all by herself. "I really appreciate it." She manages a weary but grateful smile.  
Colette reciprocates in full force, grinning at the effect she's had on her colleague. "Don't mention it, Gina." After a moment, she lifts herself to her feet, looking towards the compactor pit. "Well, we oughta scrape Freeman off the bottom of that thing, huh? Wake him up before the auto cycle does."  
Gina nods, joining her on her feet. "Right."

The pair only manage a few steps before being stopped by a strange chilling sensation. The warmth of the rising sun against their heads fades, as if a dark cloud is passing over them.  
At first, they’re surrounded by a vague presence, before the two begin to feel like they're being watched and quickly whip themselves around to defend themselves.

The jumpy duo are not met with HECU reinforcements, alien fauna or intelligence, but with what looks to be a man, standing stiffly in a pale blue suit, briefcase in hand. Gina is puzzled by the sight, the cold, sallow figure looking jarring against the warm backdrop of the desert; Colette feels a certain unease interlaced with her confusion, it's not just that he's threatening, he seems vaguely familiar.   
After a suspenseful pause, the man parts his lips, seeming to gasp in a breath of air before he speaks. “Well, isn’t  _ this  _ a… pleasant,  _ turn  _ of e _ vents? _ ” He speaks in a strange manner, a nasally tone with unnatural stresses, the attention his voice commands makes it feel as though it's physically slithering into their ears. “Doctor Cross, Doctor Green, it’s  _ quite _ for _ tu _ itous our paths should…  _ cross _ \- I had  _ al _ most given up any hope of finding an… appropriate window for  _ in _ tro _ duc _ ing myself, amidst  _ these _ …” He quietly wheezes as he seems to search for the correct word, thin lips hanging open. “Troubled times.” 

Nothing about this man makes sense to the pair. He's so calm, as if oblivious to the danger they're all in. Why is he here? Is he personnel? Civilian? Is he with the HECU? Gina shakes off the strange aura permeating from him to speak up. "Who… are you?"  
The man's eyebrows raise a bit, though his expression remains blank, robotic. "What  _ I _ am does  _ not _ con _ cern _ you, Dr. Cross- but  _ what _ the two of  _ you _ are, concerns… me."  
The man in the suit takes a few stiff steps forward, crunching gravel beneath his shoes the only sound to be heard, like even the crickets are holding bated breath. Colette takes a step in front of Gina, eyes locked on this suit, on the lookout for any foul play.

“We owe you two a _great,_ deal for what you’ve done,” A slight smirk worms onto his gaunt visage, succeeding in making the women uneasy without even knowing what he’s referring to. “ _And_ as such, _it’s_ only right that I _ex_ tend to you a… _generous_ offer.” He reaches up to brush some dust off his lapel, glancing down as he continues. “I must admit, it took a fair bit of… _persuasion_ to convince… _them_ that _this_ would not be a waste of resources,” He pauses with a smack of his lips, gasping in a breath as he looks back up. “But I have _now_ been authorized to… recruit an additional body. Given your obvious skill, _you_ two were pro _mising_ candidates.”

"Candidates?" Colette asks, glaring cautiously at the man. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
He stares back blankly with his unnatural green eyes, unphased by her questioning. "To put it simply, the  _ two _ of you are  _ in _ valuable ta _ lents _ \- and  _ I _ have been given the  _ liberty _ to give you an…  _ al _ ternative to, assured destruction. I'm  _ cer _ tain you'd find this preferable."  
"You mean you can help us stop this?" Gina speaks up, struggling to decipher his meaning.  
He gives her a pointed look, the smile leaving his face. " _ That _ … is  _ not _ what I mean."  
Colette speaks up. "Then we're not interested, buzz off. You look like you have an ambulance to be chasing." She turns away, taking Gina's hand and continuing towards the compactor.

"This crisis  _ will _ be… resolved."  
Gina looks back at him, prompting Colette to stop as well.  
He's standing stock still, everything is quiet again. "I can  _ assure _ you- taking  _ this _ offer is your best option now… you have done  _ all _ that is re _ quired  _ of you, here, and now it is  _ time _ to… move on."  
Gina furrows her brow. "We still have to get to the Lambda Complex with Gordon-"  
"That  _ won't _ be necessary, Dr. Cross- Dr. Freeman is  _ more _ than capable-"  
"And what the hell do you know?" Colette interrupts, turning to face him with fists clenched. This guy gives off the worst vibes, it's putting her even more on edge. 

That's when it starts to click. She's seen this man before, around the time she analyzed that sample… he has something to do with this.   
"Enough fucking around! You tell me exactly what you want with us right now." Colette levels a revolver at him, much to the dismay of her colleague.  
"Colette!" She moves to pull her arm down, succeeding somewhat, though the other woman doesn't take her eyes off this strange man. He hasn't done anything to warrant this quite yet, in her eyes. She hasn't put together what Colette has.  
For his part, he doesn't react to the gun pointed at him, nor to the rising emotional state of the woman holding it. "In  _ terms _ you can  _ un _ derstand, I  _ want _ to offer you a job."  
"What  _ kind _ of job?" Colette asks.  
He raises his eyebrows somewhat, almost mockingly apologetic. "I'm a _ fraid _ it's…  _ not my  _ place to say- rest assured you and your colleague will be…  _ spared _ the fate of Black Mesa."  
"'Fate?' What do you mean- you think we can't stop this?" Her blood begins to boil, Gina continues to restrain her.

"Colette, please! Let me handle this." Gina looks her in the eye, finally making some headway in talking the gun down. Colette gives her a look before hushing up, allowing the other to face the strange man. "We are… in the middle of something, sir, so if it's all the same to you, we'll have to decline your… offer."  
He raises his eyebrows again. "I  _ must _ remind you that the al _ ter _ native is… an  _ un _ favorable end… quite, anticlimactic, after  _ what _ you've been through."  
The way he says this confuses Gina. How can he be so sure of what's going to happen? What stake does he have in it? She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but we have a lot to do."  
"So piss off, ya vulture."  
Gina glances at Colette, but, given the man's manners, can't make a good argument to be more polite to him.

The suited man softly shakes his own head. "A shame… I had  _ hoped  _ this… wouldn't, be the end of your story."

Before either woman could figure out what was happening, a brilliant flash of green light swallowed the world around them. They felt their senses become disoriented, then numbed entirely as everything around them changed.  
They were no longer standing in the residual processing sector of Black Mesa on a sunny morning in New Mexico. What they saw when they opened their eyes again was an endless expanse of alien space, brilliant blue and green nebulae drifting in the aether, collections of asteroid fields comprising a number of landmasses, teeming with extraterrestrial life. They no longer felt the sun on their faces, the dry air around them, the ground below them. They were falling. They grabbed hold of one another, almost instinctively, and looked down to fall into what looked to be water.

Once they surfaced, they looked around, hardly believing what they were seeing. They were in another dimension. And they were surrounded by monsters.


End file.
